Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Last night my knitting group had our holiday gift swap. I ended up taking on two people because we ended up with an odd number of participants.

For one partner I made another knitting yarn holder from McCalls 6256, and then altered a quilt table runner pattern from online for the other gift. I've been teaching myself how to free motion quilt and loved practicing on these projects. I don't know why I didn't actually get more into this whole quilting business before; I love using the sewing machine more than the cutting and piecing aspects so machine quilting works out perfectly.

I am very happy with the button Stephanie and I found at Gwangjang last weekend, it was 800W and a perfect match for the yarn holder.

My second partner received a quilted yoga mat bag, an Amy Butler freebie. I also quilted the main panel, another excuse to practice my free motion work. Partner two also received a canister of Godiva Dark Hot Chocolate.

I received a pair of cabled fingerless mittens from my Secret Santa, it came at a great time because I've been losing steam working on my mitten. It was a really fun evening but I'm glad those projects are done and over with because I still have quite a bit on my sewing plate for December.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Lately I've been un-interested in adding more fabric to my stash... I see really cute stuff but it's taking a lot more to push me to open the wallet and actually buy it. Prompted by a recent thread on Pattern Review asking what everyone has spent on fabric in 2010, I went into our extensive budget spreadsheets to do a tally.

$3576.42

Aigoo!

That's even excluding other sewing items such as notions, patterns, magazines, books, and machines this year.

Do I feel guilty? No, not really.

Why? I don't have other luxuries and we live a relatively simple life without big extraneous expenses. We don't have debt and are financially responsible. Sewing is a productive and creative hobby and I really don't expect to be in the same spending arena once we return to the US. Guess I'm grabbing life by the reins and taking advantage of what's available to me here.

Have I mentioned lately how much I was going to miss Dong Dae Mun?

I am truly grateful to be able to live such a lucky life where I don't have to worry all the time about money. We're not well-off by any means, but being responsible with your money sure offers a lot of peace of mind and opportunities.